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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Cat 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for your Cat account

By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5

On this page
  1. Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
  2. No backup codes mentioned
  3. If Cat rejects your code
  4. Changing phones
  5. If you lose your authenticator
  6. Official Cat help

Caterpillar gives you one sign-in for its websites and apps, summed up on cat.com as "One Account. All of Cat." The same username and password open cat.com, parts.cat.com, Cat Inspect and MyCatFinancial, the Cat Financial site for your equipment financing contracts and payments (Cat, archived).

MyCatFinancial is the one place where Cat documents multi-factor authentication (MFA). In the US it has been required since June 18, 2025 (Cat, archived), and it offers two ways to get codes: text messages or an authenticator app (Cat, archived). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Cat details come from Cat's own pages, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. Cat's help center article on MFA only loads in a full web browser, and cat.com blocks automated readers, so we read the cat.com MyCatFinancial page in archived copies saved on web.archive.org on April 18, 2026, and May 12, 2025. The steps come from Cat's step-by-step PDF from May 2025, which we read directly from Caterpillar's content server. We haven't tested them on a Cat account, and labels may have changed since. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

If you're new to MyCatFinancial, setting up MFA is part of registration, right after you confirm your email and create a password. If you already have an account without MFA, MyCatFinancial prompts you to turn it on the next time you sign in (Cat, archived).

To set it up from your settings, Cat's PDF guide describes these steps (Cat):

  1. Sign in to MyCatFinancial. Click the person icon in the top-right corner, then User Settings.
  2. At the bottom of the page, click Security Settings. This opens a page with Contact, Location and Security sections.
  3. In the Security box, click Edit.
  4. Choose your MFA preference: turn on the Authenticator App option. The other choice is a text message to your phone.
  5. Cat shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR code is on your iPhone's own screen, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  6. Click Continue, then type the code Novaz shows.

The PDF writes these labels in lower case, while its screenshots show them capitalized, so the wording on your screen may differ a little.

Cat's guide only mentions the QR code. It doesn't say whether Cat also shows a key you can type, or how many digits its codes have, so scan the code rather than typing anything. If a key is all you can use, tap +, then Enter key manually in Novaz. See What is a 2FA setup key?

If you don't use MyCatFinancial

The account menu on cat.com has a Security Settings link too (Cat, archived). We found no readable Cat page that walks through MFA from there, so we can't confirm it shows the same options. Cat's pages also don't say whether cat.com, parts.cat.com or Cat Inspect ask for a code when you sign in.

No backup codes mentioned

None of Cat's readable pages mention backup or recovery codes. So turn on Novaz's iCloud backup or export a backup file. If the phone is gone and you have neither, you'll need Cat's recovery route below.

Cat's screenshot of the Security box also shows a Recovery Email and a Verification Phone Number. Cat doesn't explain how either is used when you're locked out, but it's worth checking they're current while you're on that page.

If Cat rejects your code

Cat's readable pages don't cover rejected codes. The usual cause is the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Cat doesn't describe moving the authenticator to a new phone. Its guide shows the Security box as the place where you pick your MFA preference, so that's where to go back to, while you still have the old phone and can sign in. If Novaz is backed up with iCloud backup or a backup file, restore it on the new iPhone instead; otherwise you'll scan a new QR code on the new phone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Cat gives two options for MyCatFinancial (Cat, archived):

  • use the self-service account recovery tool to reset your MFA method, or
  • contact Cat Financial's customer service team through its contact page, which will verify your identity and restore your access.

Once you're back in and have set up a new method, Cat recommends resetting your password as well. Cat doesn't say where the recovery tool appears, what proof customer service asks for, or how long it takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Official Cat help

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